Corrie's Alan Bradley: That Blackpool tram and being married to Audrey Roberts

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog January 2018, reposted to this blog with permission.)


There's a good interview in today's Sunday Mirror with Mark Eden, the actor who played Alan Bradley on Coronation Street - and in real life, the husband of Corrie actor Sue Nicholls (Audrey Roberts) too.

In Corrie, Alan terrorised Rita and was knocked down and killed by a tram in Blackpool.

But in an exclusive interview with the Sunday People, Mark reveals his one big regret – that his career on the ITV soap was cut short.

He said: “It is amazing how many people watched. It was one of the biggest figures they ever had.I should have realised monsters always get killed. They don’t keep them on. I could’ve come back later on in life. If you jump off the pier everyone ­assumes you’ve died but I was killed by a tram, so there was no way of getting away with it. If they had left it open it is just possible that he could have survived, and they could have brought me back.”

It's a good interview, with lots of pictures from Corrie's past and you can read it all here.

---

Tvor @tvordlj on Twitter

5 things I love about Coronation Street right now

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog January 2018, reposted to this blog with permission.)


As the year heads to a close, I'm feeling a bit confused about Coronation Street. I've written a little something to that effect here.

But it's too easy to sit here being a keyboard warrior writing all the things that I think is wrong with the show. All the things that I think are wrong with it are things you might think are right. And if we swapped lists, there'd be things on your list that I couldn't agree with, I'm sure.

What's important is that Corrie still ignites the passion within us fans. We care - a lot - when it's not going well and love it even more when it is.

Trying to brighten my day then before the year ends, here are the five things that I'm loving about Corrie right now.

1. Jenny flaming Bradley

Yes, I know she's Jenny Connor but she'll always be Jenny Bradley to me. Always fun to watch. Bring on the fireworks between her and Carla, please.

2. Gemma Winter

Gemma is a gem. She deserves to be behind the bar at the Rovers instead of drippy Toyah(*) and changed-personality Peter. (*I love Toyah, but she doesn't work with Peter and neither of them deserve to be at the Rovers).

3. Tracy and Steve

I am loving Tracy and Steve back together. It might not last, and it shouldn't, of course. Steve should be with Leanne. But until that happens (if it does), then I'm enjoying every second of these two pretending to play happy families. Tracy's behaviour now reminds me of Deirdre, who's still much missed of course.

4. Michelle Connor

Given the right storyline, Kym Marsh acts everyone else off the screen. The late miscarriage storyline this year had me in pieces and Kym's powerful performance was incredible.  But then.. what? They stuck her with Robo-Robert. Get rid of him, Corrie and give the Bistro to Michelle to run in competition with Liz back at the Rovers. Now that's a fight I'd like to see. And Liz to win, of course.

5. Liz, Sally, Rita, Gail, Audrey

Okay, I know that's five women but please Corrie, let's see more of them. Stop the focus, just briefly on Kate and Rana. Just because there's a noise on Twitter about them, doesn't mean every single one of your viewers is a #Kana fan. It also doesn't mean that every single one of your viewers is on Twitter. Please remember this and don't lose sight of what you are - a television programme - not a social media fad.

---

Tvor @tvordlj on Twitter

5 Corrie Stalwarts we want to see more of

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog October 2017, reposted to this blog with permission.)


The dictionary definition of Stalwart reads: Loyal, reliable, and hard-working.  My own personal interpretation of Stalwart as far as Coronation Street goes lie in these characters in this blog post who I don't think we're seeing enough of.  Yes, bring on the younger characters, of course, we need all ages showcased on the Street. But forget your elders at your peril, too.

Here are some of my favourite stalwarts that I reckon we need to see more of in higher profile storylines and with more screen time too. 

Agree? Disagree? As always, we love to hear your views.

Audrey and Gail. Yes, I know that's two for the price of one, but both are being pitifully under used and have been for some time. Maybe Gail will come into her own massaging Eileen Phelan's fevered brow when she finds out what her husband's gone and done. The two of them can swap notes on what life was like being married to a murderer. And Audrey can help pour the gin.

Ken Barlow had a huge storyline earlier this year in the Who Pushed Ken? saga, but it was more a showcase for his family, rather than Ken himself. Let's have Denise Osbourne back as Daniel's mum and she can spark up a flame with Ken again who can float around in his kimono.

Liz, of course. Nothing else needs to be said. Apart from get her name back up above the door at the Rovers.

Roy is very much a peripheral character these days. David Neilson, Roy Cropper and we fans deserve more.

And Yasmeen is a little gem, underused and in the background.

Come on Corrie, do your stuff, you're good at this, you've had 57 years practice. Give the stalwarts a voice and a storyline.

---

Tvor @tvordlj on Twitter

Sue Nicholls reaches 3000 episodes as Corrie's Audrey

 

(This post was originally posted by Graeme N on the Coronation Street Blog in October 2017, reposted to this blog with permission.)


It's no secret that I'm a big fan of both Coronation Street character Audrey Roberts and Sue Nicholls, the actress who plays her. In some down time the other day I enjoyed some geekery on the fabulous Corriepedia website and realised that Sue has just celebrated a notable Corrie milestone. 

This very blog recently highlighted the fact that Simon Gregson had reached the landmark of his 3000th episode as Steve McDonald. Now Sue Nicholls has passed the same mark as Audrey. To be precise, Corriepedia records that as of 9262 on 29th September (Tomorrow and Thursday in Canada), Sue has made 3002 appearances as Audrey. As we have noted here before, that means Sue joins a small and very illustrious group of actors which includes Bill Roache, Barbara Knox and her on-screen daughter, actress Helen Worth. 

 

Sue first appeared as Audrey Potter on 16th April 1979 when Aud turned up for Gail's 21st birthday shindig in the Rovers Select. She instantly turned heads, bonding with kindred spirit Elsie Tanner and catching the eye of Rita's husband Len. The glamorous, flighty Audrey was initially at odds with our Gail and flitted in and out of her life during the early 1980s before finally settling down with greengrocer Alf Roberts in 1985. And Sue has been a regular fixture on the cobbles ever since.

An experienced actor long before she landed her most famous role, Sue Nicholls first made a name for herself as Marilyn Gates in Crossroads in the 1960s. Roles in Rentaghost, The Professionals, The Gentle Touch and The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin followed before Weatherfield came calling. And I'm very glad it did. One of the few truly classic Corrie characters still on screen today, long may Sue continue to entertain us and long may Audrey be the voice of reason amidst the Platt family chaos!

To finish, here's some classic Audrey v Ivy from way back in 1980:

 
 You can follow me on Twitter @GraemeN82

---

Tvor @tvordlj on Twitter

The tales of Corrie that never were

(This post was originally posted by Clinkers (David) on the Coronation Street Blog in October 2016.)


How are we enjoying our Corrie at the moment? There's a feeling that the new boss has given the cobbles a bit of a 'bottoming' and a much needed kick up the rear portions. Of course not everything has been rosy (as opposed to Rosie - let's not even get started on that!) down Weatherfield way and recently we've seen that real life can impact on our favourite fiction.

Unsavoury off-screen events mean that we will never get to see the full flowering of Sharif's never-mentioned-before affair with Yasmeen's sly best 'friend'. For that we should throw up our arms and rejoice. Viewers have been saved from months of dreary, unbelievable and unpalatable storytelling together with the continuing rubbishing of Alya. Instead, we might be treated to the sudden disappearance of slimy Sharif and a nice little death. Yasmeen will emerge as a brighter and stronger character. We can but hope.

The vagaries of real life have often resulted in the need for a swift piece of re-writing or a sudden explanation. Maybe it seems a bit easier these days yet years ago it could sometimes feel a little clunky. The more vintage viewers amongst us will recall the mid-seventies when ill-health forced Violet Carson out of the programme. For most of 1975 she was referred to as still being a vibrant part of Street life despite never being seen. There were even a few scenes of closing shop doors with people calling out "Bye Mrs Sharples" and that was that. We believed.

The sudden demise of a storyline or character can often lead us down the rocky road to ruin - the pondering over what might have been. Would Martha Lonhgurst still have been cleaning the Rovers during Bet's tenure and if so, would Hilda Ogden never have existed? Could Len Fairclough have coped with Norris Cole? Had she lived, would Valerie Barlow have been Secretary General of the United Nations?

One of the most tantalising non-stories was provided by the sudden exit of Billy Walker in 1975. Reading about this forty years on makes you wonder how something so major as a contract could have been overlooked. The actor Ken Farrington was approaching contract renewal  time and decided to leave the show. Meanwhile the writers and producers had blithely carried on with their preparations for Billy's marriage to Deirdre Hunt. Suddenly came the realisation that this wasn't going to happen. Had it done so, then we would have been looking at a very different future for Deirdre. She would have been the new Mrs Walker, no doubt battling with Annie and trying to keep the peace between the veteran landlady and the very lovely Blanche. With Deirdre Walker in place, there would have been no Ray, no Tracy, no Barlow wedding, no Barlow bust-ups, no Wendy flamin' Crozier. Deirdre probably wouldn't have ended up behind the counter at the Corner Shop, or shared a home with Emily. She might well have been the landlady of the Rovers Return. An odd and frankly scary alternative vision.

At the other end of the scale though is someone having the foresight to ditch a storyline when it isn't going well or simply doesn't feel right. The odd, if not displeasing, coupling of Ken and Audrey looked like it might end up in a lovely, feel-good festive wedding come this Christmas. Yet this doesn't appear to be so. Instead the relationship fizzled out before it had really begun and Audrey's getting her jollies staring through the Round Window with Derek Griffiths from Play School. The prospect of Audrey Barlow was a cosy, pleasing one in some ways. It would have brought her more firmly into the Corrie landscape. Remember, apart from four years at number 11, Aud has spent over a quarter of a century on Grasmere Drive. Having her at number 1 might have been fun but it now looks unlikely.

Therefore the non-story of a potential Audrey Barlow will be flung into the Corrie Cupboard of those other tales that never came to fruition - single mother Emily Nugent, gay Jerry Booth, George Greenwood taking over the Corner Shop, the missing Ogden children,  Ivy Tilsley's non-marriage to George Wardle, the Ken & Deirdre reconciliation of 1993, Irma Barlow's affair with Alan Howard, the kidnapping of Freddie Peacock . . . and there may be more.

Whether or not any of those lost stories would have seriously changed the course of Corrie history is debatable - but that's part of the fun.

David Bridgman, twitter @bridglondon



Follow the Bluenose CorrieBlog on Twitter and Facebook

All the Single Ladies

(This post was originally posted by Ruth Owen on the Coronation Street Blog in September 2016, reposted to this blog with permission.)

There are several single ladies at this moment on the cobbles. Some newly single, others have been single for a while. Let’s start with Liz. At one point something seemed to be happening between Amy’s friend’s dad and Liz but that must have fizzled out though I don’t remember when or why.

Her last significant relationship was with Tony and I thought they went well together. Naturally it had to end because of Tony’s deceit and relationship with Tracy. Remember how well Liz tricked Tony and everyone else into thinking she was going to give him another chance? Sheer class from the landlady of The Rovers.

Who is there for Liz? I had wondered about Vinny, the villain. She is attracted to bad boys, is our Liz. Is he with anyone? Even if he was, I cannot see Vinny being morally troubled by a little adultery. Is there anyone else suitable for Liz amongst the current residents? She needs a new arrival. And I don’t mean Leanne’s baby. Odd how she seems more interested in Leanne’s baby than she does Michelle’s. Is that just the natural reaction of human psychology? The one less available becomes the more tantalising?

Some might say that Maria must have had a moment of insanity when she dumped Luke. After all, what is not to like about the tall, dark handsome man? What is going on in Maria’s head? Does she have her heart set on Aidan, after their night of passion? He has made it clear that it was a mistake but Maria did seem a little put out by his rather ungallant attitude in making it clear that it was indeed just that and nothing more – a mistake. Maybe there will be a follow up after all.

Sarah has been single since her relationship with Callum and has been very delicate mentally since his death and Harry’s birth. She now seems to be getting stronger and there is a certain Gary Windass who may well ask Sarah out. Gary and Izzy’s time is done and they have agreed to take Care of Jake as best they can, despite their not being together. Sarah and Gary? I think that could work. We’ve already seen Izzy watching the 2 of them talking. Will Izzy find someone else too?

Mary now feels that she is nothing short of an expert on broken hearts after her fling with married cheat and ghost hunter Brendan. She has taken on her woman of the world role with great gusto, thereby producing further comedic moments for the massively talented Patti Clare.

But the question is - who will be Mary’s next love object? There has been speculation that a new man will arrive on the cobbles and that love develops after friendship. I hope It’s true. I’d love her to find a decent man but not at the cost of a reduction of eccentricity.

Tracy has been single for a while since her split with Robert. Is it possible that the 2 of them will reconcile? At the moment it seems unlikely, though who knows what set of circumstances the writers will create to put them back together. To be with Tracy is not an experience for the faint hearted and there is no sign of an orderly queue forming at her door.

Since Gary and Alya split over her night with Jason, Alya has not had a romantic attachment. Alya is beautiful, intelligent and ambitious – in short a good catch. However, she may well be enjoying her life as a working single woman and contrary to what many believe it is possible to lead a fulfilling life without a significant other.

Are Rana and Zeedan back on? Why was Rana so cagey as to why she didn’t want her parents to show up for the Nazirs anniversary do?

Gemma, a definite marmite character, had a fling with Jason, and we saw from that Gemma’s lack of confidence, despite her general gobbiness. She did reveal a while ago that she loved Callum, but it wasn’t crystal clear as to her meaning. Was it romantic love she felt or strong friendship?

Caz, Kate and Sophie are all currently single. Caz has clearly developed feelings for Maria, but there’s no chance those 2 would work as Maria is into men. Kate and Sophie, who are also single, appear to enjoy each other’s company so maybe after Brooke Vincent finishes her theatre run, Kate and Sophie will get together.

If Audrey and Ken are going to get together they are taking their time about it. Does she prefer Freddie? And there was that rather elegant looking silver haired woman in the Bistro…

Rita, I believe, is not looking for romance but you can never say never. How satisfying it would be if Queen Rita could meet her king and reign on the cobbles together. If someone did come along, he would have to be worth his weight in gold.

Ruth Owen, twitter @ruth1722

Follow the Bluenose CorrieBlog on Twitter and Facebook

Watch: Sue Nicholls - This is Your Life

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog July 2016, reposted to this blog with permission.)

With thanks to our blogger Graeme on twitter for alerting us to this little gem.

It's an old one but a good one. Does anyone know what year it was from?

Michael Aspel was on the set of Coronation Street when he surprised Sue Nicholls with his big red book for This is Your Life. 

Michael surprised the actress who - at the time - had been on the street for 36 years playing hairdresser Audrey Roberts. Off-screen Sue Nicholls is married to Mark Eden who played the infamous Alan Bradley, father of Jenny. 

We hope you enjoy watching this. 




Follow the Bluenose CorrieBlog on Twitter and Facebook

Reasons to be cheerful about Coronation Street

 (This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog August 2016, reposted to this blog with permission.)

Although there are a few frustrations with Coronation Street at the moment (and you can read about those here), there's a lot I'm currently loving about our favourite show.

Over the last few weeks I've noticed a stronger Coronation Street, a better Coronation Street. The acting has been of a better calibre than in recent months, the writing tighter, the scenes more heightened and the drama more compelling. 

Has anyone else noticed this, or am I viewing things through rose-tinted Corrie specs?

The first thing I'm loving is that the new producer Kate Oates is now at the helm. I understand that her storylines won't be shown until next month, but she's got her name above the door now. The new producer is most definitely IN.

Putting Sean and Norris together could be a match made in heaven. Since Sean arrived in Coronation Street 13 years ago, he's always lived with Eileen.  Moving him out of what has become his home and in with busy-body of the Street could be comedy gold. I hope, also, we'll see a great deal of pathos between these two lonely (and often quite nasty) men.

I'm also loving the on-screen chemistry between Leanne and Nick.  These are two characters I'm not right fond of individually but there's something about them both together that works - and it works really well.  I never felt Nick and Carla were suited but Leanne and Nick are a match made in soap heaven and a real joy to watch.

And Audrey's infatuation with Luke is a joy to watch too.



Speaking of Audrey, this leads me to think about Freddie, who has been a great addition to the cast. But it's not just individual characters that are driving Corrie forward at the moment, it's the types of characters, the strength of them.  In Freddie and Johnny Connor we've got a new type of Corrie alpha male, and one that is great fun to watch.

Of course, Corrie is still missing a battle-axe and a siren but with the promised return of three characters  - I think the future's looking bright on Coronation Street.



Follow the Bluenose CorrieBlog on Twitter and Facebook

YAY or NAY: Should Alma return to Corrie?

(This post was originally posted by Graeme N on the Coronation Street Blog in August 2016, reposted to this blog with permission.)


Yes I know you probably all think I'm completely bonkers but stay with me for a moment. I absolutely love Amanda Barrie and I think she's a cracking actress. As Alma, she created one of my all time favourite Coronation Street characters. I think it was a crying shame that Alma was killed off when Amanda decided to leave the Street as I always thought she'd be a character that could pop back now and then.

Amanda has gone on to play other roles on stage and screen since she left Corrie but in a recent interview the actress made it clear that she still misses Weatherfield life. Indeed she still dreams about working on Corrie. As she very obviously has great affection for the show, this made me wonder if a return was completely dead in the water.

 

After all, characters returning from the dead isn't exactly new in the increasingly bizarre world of the soap opera. Only last year Anne Charleston reprised her iconic Neighbours role as Madge Bishop to celebrate thirty years of the Australian soap. And just a few months ago we saw Pam St Clement back for a brief appearance as Pat Butcher from the other side as Barbara Windsor's Peggy breathed her last in Albert Square. 

Now, I'm not saying we should bring Alma back to say goodbye to another iconic character, however as Alma still has strong links to two current cast members (Sue Nicholls' Audrey and Helen Worth's Gail) I think it would be great fun to reunite these wonderful Corrie ladies one last time. Perhaps Ken could propose to Audrey who then turns to her oldest (and albeit dead) friend for advice? Coronation Street rarely does two hander episodes but I bet a half hour devoted to Audrey and Alma would be fantastic viewing and a chance for the writing team to create some gems.

Of course this is all bonkers as I said at the beginning, but I can still dream. And it would help right the wrong of Amanda's original departure from Corrie back in 2001. So what do you think about a return for Alma for one night only? YAY or NAY?

 

You can follow on Twitter @GraemeN82



Follow the Bluenose CorrieBlog on Twitter and Facebook